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Editor's Note: We're running a multi-part story of the survival of
Jilly, a collie that was lost this summer in the High Country, and the
miraculous discovery of the dog over three weeks later. The WATA Pet
Patrol and Pet Patrol Page on GoBlueRidge.net followed the search and
offered our on-air and on-line help. Jilly's owner, Linda Plaster is
the writer.

FINDING JILLY (condensed version)

Part 3 of 3

Dr. David Linzey came out to my SUV, picked Jilly up and carried her to an exam table. Two vet techs, Caitlynne Garland and Patterson Gelok, worked to immediately shave her front leg and get an IV started. She seemed really happy to see people and to have us all around her – she just layed there while the team worked on her. They also quickly shaved Jilly’s behind right away as they could tell something was wrong back there – hair was completely missing on part of her tail. The flies had been all over her when I found her and Dr. Linzey told me that she had “fly egg casings and some mature larvae” (a euphemism for maggots) on her hindquarters. She had a wound and skin inflammation on her hindquarters that may have attracted the flies, or she could have been incontinent attracting the flies, or both. One of the vet techs cleaned the wounded area and Dr. Linzey examined Jilly and put her on the scale – she had gone from 57 pounds to 44 pounds. Incredibly, she shuffled off the scale and wanted to walk around. She was smelling around and I’m sure thinking – I’ve been through all this, now where’s the food – I really want food…